Small P1853 Cadet Socket Bayonet

[marysdad]

I picked up this miniature, but faithful copy of a P1853 socket bayonet, which must have been for some kind of cadet or boy’s rifle. It is very sturdily constructed, with attention to detail, not what one would expect if it were a toy. The only marking is the number 29 on the elbow. The socket is painted black and the blade in the white. The dimensions are as follows:

Overall Length: 10.375 in. (264 mm.)
Blade Length: 8.125 in. (206 mm.)
Socket Length: 2.250 in. (57 mm.)
Socket Diameter: 0.535 in. (13.6 mm.)

Here are some pics of the details, as well as an image of it photographed beside a full-size P1853 bayonet. I would be most appreciative of any information that is known about these bayonets.

Information

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[Patrick Chadwick]

I picked up this miniature, but faithful copy of a P1853 socket bayonet, which must have been for some kind of cadet or boy’s rifle.

I respectfully disagree. In the hands of a child it would be a terrible hazard and serve no useful purpose. It seems more likely that it is an approximately 1/2-scale model, made for an exhibition. Somewhere, there may be a half-sized Enfield Rifle to go with it...

However, a there seems to be a number 29 stamped on the bayonet, suggesting at least a small series, I shudder to think that I may be wrong. The thought of a group of 12-year olds charging around with such weapons is disturbing.

[green]

Certainly does look like a cadet bt but does not match the dimensions of any specimen of which I have a record. Special cadet bayonets were made and widely issued up to about 1920.

[marysdad]

Patrick, you may be on to something, in thinking this may be a salesman's sample. There were lots of cadet bayonets made for use by military boarding schools for boys. However, this one would have been costly to produce, given the faithful attention to duplicating the real thing in such small scale. They could have gone much cheaper on a bayonet for a cadet rifle. I found this example at a gun show in Auburn, CA (very near where the 1849 California Gold Rush began). You never know what will turn up at these small rural shows. I found my Daisy No. 40 toy socket bayonet at another of these rural California shows.